It had started in the terrifyingly named "death maze", at least Dirk was pretty sure that's when it started, but really he supposed it could have started before that. If he was being honest with himself actually, it probably started back when they visited Amanda at her house. He had been intrigued by the way Todd took care of his sister, not to mention impressed with both the siblings musical abilities. He could still imagine himself standing next to them as he played bass.

But no, he hadn't realised what it was then, at least not beyond a want for friendship and an assistant. He hadn't started to feel that something was odd until after they found the maps, after Todd had come in with Amanda. He saw the way Todd looked at Farah and so did Amanda judging by the look she sent him. That had been an unexpected pain in his chest. He started to get a clue into his own feelings when Todd ran up to Farah and him gibbering about a jacket, but he was too happy Todd had come to really listen to what he was saying.

The death maze though, after Todd had fallen in as well and they had solved the lightbulb puzzle and Todd had impressed him with his keep moving forward mentality, that was when he put his finger on it; or more so five fingers, as he had grabbed Todd's outstretched hand right before feeling the second wave of electricity shoot through him. In his own mind he liked to joke that it was then that he felt the spark between them.

Right this second though, as the van he had been shoved into drove away from the diner where Todd was, and Farah, that was the moment he would always remember as the point where it had all become glaringly obvious to him, the moment he truly acknowledged what he felt.

With those three words swimming in his head he suddenly knew what he had to do and what he couldn't let happen. So that was how he found himself pouncing over one of his captors laps as he used his cuffed hands to try the handle on the side door of the van, which opened freely. He just thanked the universe they had cuffed his hands in front of him because the next moment he was throwing himself from the moving vehicle in a tuck and roll, thankful to have his hands to break his fall. He was surprised to land on a somewhat padded surface as he hit an old and dirty mattress someone had left on the curb.

Not even waiting until he had his breath back he was bouncing to his feet again and making a mad dash for the wooded ravine on the other side of the road. He may have only been in Seattle for a few months but he was pretty sure the diner wasn't far from the other side. Once inside he made sure to stay off the paths as much as possible, only chancing them to cross the bridge, until he could see the exit. Only stopping for a moment to catch his breath on the edge of the small forested area, he was soon dashing back out into the open. As he sprinted across a busy street, ignoring angry blares of people's horns, he didn't dare look back. He recognized where he came out and now only had one goal in mind; get back to Todd.

He spared a short thought on the fact no one had tried to stop a cuffed man running like mad through the streets but soon enough he was rounding the corner to the diner and running into Farah, literally. He ran smack dab, whole bodily into her knocking them both to the ground in a heap.

Farah sounded angry as she started to say, "What the hell…", but cut herself off as she looked at the person currently sprawled on top of her. In a tone that conveyed too many emotions to decipher she croaked out a confused, "Dirk?" She took a moment to look him over as she sat up quickly and pulled back before asking, "What the hell happened to you? It's only been like ten minutes since I noticed you were even gone." Seemingly as an afterthought she also asked in confusion, "Why are you handcuffed?"

Jumping to his feet he started to speak a mile a minute. "It was quite horrid, Farah. That attack dog for the agency grabbed me and rather rudely shoved me into a van, and I don't know about you, but I make it a point not to get into vans with strange men I don't know, but I didn't really have a choice, now did I? The big buffoon had a gun and before I knew it these ridiculously uncomfortable pieces of metal were around my wrists and I suddenly realised how I felt about Todd as we were speeding away, but I got an impulse to throw myself from the van and so when the door actually opened I did. Thank god for that frankly disgusting mattress that broke my fall. When I saw the ravine though, I knew I could get back here to Todd, and you, so I started to run and didn't really stop, well until I ran rather hard into you, and my god is it hard to run in handcuffs. I don't know how people manage it." He frowned down at his aching wrists and the offending circles of metal.

When Dirk was forced to stop to breathe Farah took the opportunity to jump in asking, "Wait, who grabbed you?" She was pulling a key from her wallet as she further asked, "Did you jump out of a moving vehicle?" As she used the key to remove the cuffs from his wrists she also pointed out, "People don't typically go running around in cuffs, Dirk, which is kind of the point of them." It was only as she was slipping the cuffs into her own pocket that her mind finally stuck on one of the things he had said. Eyebrows shooting up she asked in a slightly high pitched voice, "Wait, what did you say about Todd?" it was too late though, Dirk was already dashing through the front door of the diner.

To the other patrons of the diner Dirk looked like a mad man as he dashed to the table they had been at, rubbing at his very sore wrists. When there was no sign of the shorter man Dirk found an unsettling sense of dread settling over him. He could feel something was wrong, something beyond his own kidnapping that is. Wheeling around on the spot, barley registering Farah coming to stand next to him, he tried to find Todd. That was when he noticed a small group of people gathered by the restrooms. That uneasy feeling amplifying, Dirk made his way quickly toward the group, pushing through without a second thought for the people he was shoving out of his way.

He heard it first, a strangled, breathless scream of fear and pain. There was still a millisecond of time for him to hope and wish and pray that it wasn't Todd, but far too soon he was confronted with the sight of him curled into himself on the floor, writhing in pain. After a quick once over that revealed no injuries he knew exactly what was happening and felt his heart clench painfully at the realisation. Todd had the disease after all. Dirk had seen that something had been off since they had saved Lydia, since Todd had taken that electric shock in order to save his life. He hoped dearly the two weren't related.

Dropping to his knees beside Todd and pushing the well-meaning, but in the way, strangers aside he tried to get Todd's attention, grabbing his shoulder. "Todd, its Dirk, listen to me, it's just an attack. Whatever your mind is telling you is happening right now, it's not. You're fine, you're okay, nothing is wrong." When there was no sign that Todd could even hear him Dirk felt the panic start to take over and grabbed one of Todd's hands, using the other to cup his face to turn it toward him. Stroking this thumb over his best friends cheek Dirk all but pleaded, "Please, Todd, just listen to me, trust me, you are fine. Your mind is just playing a trick on you, you're okay." Though it felt like Todd might have been pushing his face further into Dirk's hand there still wasn't really any sign that his words were getting through, if they even could, if it could even do a damn thing to help. Desperate, he gathered Todd's form into his arms and wrapped them tightly around him. As Todd buried his face into Dirks neck and let out a pained whimper he could feel the body in is arms relax slightly. Not enough to ease his mind, or heart, in the slightest but it was something.

While this was happening Farah had somehow dispersed the small crowed so it was at that moment Dirk heard a very tiny voice yelling indistinctly. That was when he saw the phone beside him, apparently still on a call. With Todd starting to relax little by little Dirk unwrapped one arm from around Todd to pick up the phone and put it to his ear, which was a very bad idea because at that moment Amanda yelled, very loudly, "What the hell is going on! Todd! What's happening! Why were you screaming! Todd! Answer me!"

Frowning down at Todd, Dirk said somewhat awkwardly, "Um, Todd can't come to the phone right now, Amanda. He's rather indisposed at the moment."

He had to yank the phone away from his ear when she managed to yell even louder, "Dirk! What the fu…" When he felt it was safe again he brought the phone back to his ear. Amanda sounded frantic as she demanded, "What is going on, Dirk? First the guys and I get ambushed by people who look military and then I have to listen as my brother sounds like he's being tortured, with no idea what the hell is going on. Tell me right now, Dirk, what in the hell is happening?"

Dirk had to take a moment to gather his own thoughts before he could talk. He started with what would be easier to say out loud, unconsciously pulling Todd closer to him as he told her, "Well, I imagine, based off of what just happened to me, that those men were in fact military. It would seem that I, and other people like me, are being forcefully taken in from the sounds of it. That is why I would recommend getting as far away as possible from The Rowdy 3. As long as you're not with them you should be in no danger; theoretically." He started to rub his free hand up and down Todd's back in an effort to sooth both of them as he waited for what he knew would happen next.

Indignant, Amanda demanded, "I want to know about Todd, Dirk! I don't give a shit about what the military wants, and I'm not leaving Vogel, so just tell me what in the hell just happened to my brother?!"

He could hear it in her voice, that underlying understanding fear. She knew exactly what was going on, she just couldn't admit it to herself. Closing his eyes and letting out a sigh as his head thumped back against the wall all he told her was, "Amanda, we both know that you know exactly what just happened to your brother."

There was a long silence as he could hear Amanda's breathing become shallow, before finally she said in a childlike voice, soft and scared and sad, "But he lied. He's not supposed to have it. He's supposed to be fine." He could hear the tears in her voice as she all but whispered, "Dirk, this wasn't supposed to happen."

Fighting against the lump in his own throat Dirk quietly told her, "I know, Amanda, I know." Swallowing thickly he tried to lighten the mood as he said, "I thought maybe you'd think it was karmic. You know, he lied about having it and seemingly the second he comes clean he gets it. That's iro…"

He was cut off as Amanda cursed him through her teeth before saying, "I wouldn't wish this horrible disease on my worst enemy, Dirk. I sure as hell never wanted my brother to get it, even if he did lie to everybody about it. I wanted to punch him in the face or kick him in the crotch, but never this; never, ever this."

Dirk started to apologise for implying she'd actually want this but was cut off by Farah who was rushing toward him telling him they had to go. He blurted out a hastily good bye before pulling Todd to his feet. Thankfully Todd was now present enough to be partially dragged by Dirk as they ran for the back exit. As they were coming out into the alley Farah was giving a sit rep. SUV's were pulling up in the front so they quickly made their way through the alley. Once they had reached a street a couple blocks down Farah surprised Dirk by hotwiring a car after breaking into it. Soon enough they were speeding away with Farah behind the wheel, Dirk and Todd in the back. The shorter man seemed mostly back to normal, if much quieter and more pale, as he leaned slightly into Dirk so their shoulders were touching. Dirk said nothing, instead simply enjoying the warmth he could feel coming from the other man as he looked out the window.